Taking the Salt Out

BY:

The recent drought conditions in the United States as well
as concern over water availability have led to increased interest in
desalination. More than 97 percent of the water on Earth is saltwater.

Five large municipal water agencies have combined to advocate
a significantly increased federal role in encouraging desalination. The group
sees desalination as a viable, cost-effective way of making seawater and
brackish groundwater reliable sources to supplement national drinking water
supplies.

The United States Desalination Coalition plans to ask
Congress to approve legislation aimed at providing financial incentives and
grants for the development of desalination treatment facilities. At the outset,
members of the coalition are composed of five large water agencies in
California. Members are City of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power,
Municipal Water District of Orange County, Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California, San Diego Water Authority and West Basin Municipal Water
District.

While desalination once was a prohibitively expensive
alternative, both capital and operating costs have been cut in half over the
decade, making this option much more competitive. At the same time,
contamination and scarcity have made the alternatives more expensive. The
result is that the market for desalination equipment and membranes is
forecasted to rise from $1.1 billion this year to $1.8 billion in 2007,
according to the McIlvaine Co.

Desalination is not just a pipe dream. Projects are being
completed. On March 16, Tampa Bay Water's desalination plant produced its
first 3 million gallons. It is expected to hit its capacity of 25 million
gallons per day by mid-April. At that point it will be the largest desalination
plant in the nation.

The $110 million plant was the result of four years of
planning and 18 months of construction. By building next to the Tampa Electric
Co.'s Big Bend plant, money was saved. The plant uses saltwater from the
bay for cooling, so the desal plant could draw 44 million gallons of the discharge
rather than building its own intake pipes. The plan was made possible by the
Southwest Florida Management District agreeing to use taxpayers' money to
pay for 90 percent of the construction cost. The result is the cheapest desal
water in the world ($1.88 per thousand gallons).

Like Tampa, the Desalination Coalition hopes for a new
supply of clean water. "Our coalition will grow as water agencies in
other states learn about our goals and approach," Coalition executive
director and former senior official in the Reagan Interior Department Hal
Furman said. "The need for a new, reliable supply of clean water extends
across the nation."